I'm puzzled....

[Broggie]

Yep, I'm puzzled...  Not being a rider BITD and looking at the old school race pics it seems that many of the tracks back then werent particularly daunting...

Yet current tracks seem to be designed to help you break bones as often as is possible.  Forgive me if I seem a bit wussy but I cant seem to get any speed up on these tracks, a combination of age, lack of exercise and understandable fear of hitting that hard ground, usually completely at the wrong angle cramps what little style I might be able to develop...

I know most people here probably dont worry too much, but do you, or did you find newer tracks a bit WTF, bugger that, in comparison to the old ones...

Its very hard to practice when these tracks are so targetted at the (far) more experienced rider.


Sorry for being a wuss 


Ray.

[macky]

I think its the same on everthing... tracks, ramps, vert... everything has gone HUGE!!

There're mini ramps now that are bigger than the vert quarters BITD!!

and the halfpipes are terrifyingly big compared to what i used to ride!!

As for track's... i'm yet to ride a new track but they do look scary...


the more time you spend at the track, the more confident you'll become!!!

[fouronethreeoh!]

My local track is very technical and has huge jumps, im in total agreement, ive lost all my ability to ride this kind of track.
There was always some big jumps on old school tracks, check the thread in o/s racing, but they seem to be packed in one after the other these days.
There is a certain speed that you get to and the track then becomes rideable, below it and it feels impossible.

[mr.magoo]

Yeah, bitd they were more built for powerhouses, I loved 'em. But then we started getting left behind in european competition and the Worlds, Slagharren bitd was similar to new tracks. So tracks now built so that you need technical ability to get round at speed, and as above, once you reach the speed tis easy, if your bottle can take the massive airs and jumps, but go slower, and the track just wants to put you on your rrr's.

Still, once i have recovered my knee injury and can ride again i look forward to trying again

[Timmeh]

Ray,

I agree.  I've had two knee ops and all sorts of other bits fixed and bolted from random shit- wish I could say awesome bike prangs but they weren't. 

I really wanna BMX now but Mrs Timmeh gives me 'that look' that says 'be careful, don't do owt stupid, don't be late' and with a twist of 'howcomes you're riding a bike from when you were 13?'

I still haven't learned to 'aerial' (as they were called) as I keep getting Disco Leg and bottling it on the run up!

Being quite a distance away from 'similar' people (i.e. 30-odd yr old blokes on BMXs) makes it awkward to gain more skill too; my local BMX park has tons of really good kids in there and I always get a funny look when I turn up on my chrome OS ride, tentatively ride a ramp and claim 'air time' when I gain 4mm from a ramp...

[paulgray]

Back when I started in the early eighties racing was about getting the power down and pedalling
fast (spin to win). Mostly the jumps were not intimidating and a novice could happily ride the
track without fear of injury or making a fool of themselves. A novice would be defeated by a
more experienced rider but never by the track itself. 

The jumps where there to break your pedalling rhythm rather than to throw you into the air. It
was imperative to pedal over an obstacle if you wanted to gain an advantage over the riders who
coasted over the jumps. At the top level getting an extra half crank in against the opposition
over a jump could be the difference between first and fourth going into the first turn.

In the late eighties when double jumps started to grow in size new jumping skills where
required to be competitive. Naturally the jumps keep getting bigger to test riders ability as
average riding skills improve.

I guess that during the 90's tracks evolved into what we see today.

Modern tracks require additional skills, the ability to conservation and/or gain momentum
through a tightly packed series of obstacles where there is little chance to pedal is vital,
this was never an issue on old tracks as jumps where widely spaced. 

In my opinion the emphasis has changed over the years. The old tracks required you to pedal,
the new tracks require you to pump. Old tracks were forgiving and favoured power riders who
could pedal hard over obstacles right from the start to the finish line. New tracks are
unforgiving and the emphasis is on conservation of momentum through technical ability. You
still need power but it's got to be more tightly controlled to get the flow right through the jumps,
get out of sync and you're going down hard. Its almost like comparing a 100m race against the 110m hurdles.

It would be interesting to count the number of crank revolutions on an early track compared to
the number required on a modern one. I bet the early riders pedalled at least twice as much.

One thing hasn't changed, getting out the gate is still the most important part of the race,
and its still the most fun kind of cycle racing there is.

[paul clarkson]

thats just what i was about to say paul 

[lazyboy]

To right,,, the new tracks are all about manualing and keeping the bike down,BITD it was pedal like mad and jump the bumps(great fun)
i cant ride the new ones now its to technical.
where have the tabletops and the stepup tabletops gone ,gettiing AIR

BMX supercross now thats good

[evamedia]

I keep getting Disco Leg

What's disco leg?

[ron burgundy]

Anyone can ride a new track, just ride within your ability at the time.  The more you ride the better you'll get.

Do not go full pelt if you haven't got the skills to back it up...  you will fall off, I did

[paulgray]

thats just what i was about to say paul 

Then we are in complete agreement  Paul

[lazyboy]

Anyone can ride a new track, just ride within your ability at the time.  The more you ride the better you'll get.

Do not go full pelt if you haven't got the skills to back it up...  you will fall off, I did

yer anywon can, but to me they are to tricky ,going over a set of woops now is hell to a 40+ like me
at least BITD they where spaced out.

Bo##cks to it i just want to be 13 and go back to 1982

[LucyLastic]

I must admit, I prefer old school tracks rather than the new type 

[paulgray]

BMX has always been a school of hard knocks, and the bigger you go the harder they get, that's just the way it is. I would love to do it again but I might just have to chear on Flemdog and tell myself I could still do it if I really wanted 

[Timmeh]

I keep getting Disco Leg

What's disco leg?

It's when you're doing summink quite exciting that releases adrenalin and off your leg goes- discoing on it's own whilst the remainder of your body stays still; very common amomgst novice rock-climbers and old gits like me 'pushing the envelope'...